| ITU Media Release: 15 October 2003 |
| 2003
Madeira ITU World Cup will test 2004 ITU World Championship Course Sunday, October 19- Madeira, Portugal- Madeira ITU Triathlon World Cup Elite Women -14:30 (local time) 13:30 (GMT) Elite Men -17:00 (local time), 16:00 (GMT) The hot, hilly course for the 2003 Madeira ITU World Cup - the final ITU "premier" World Cup of the season, is also the venue for the 2004 ITU World Championships. The course is an ideal choice for the pre-Olympic World Championship as it simulates conditions athletes can expect in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The triathlon world will watch closely the results from Madeira on Sunday, October 19th, as they will provide valuable insight not only into which athletes are performing well at this important time in 2003 but also allow a glimpse of who will be the athletes to watch in next years World Championships and arguably next year's Olympic Games. Les McDonald, ITU President, when speaking of the importance of this event indicated; "The 2004 Madeira World Championships will be the final event for athletes to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Following the 2003 Madeira World Cup athletes will leave this Portuguese Island off the coast of Africa, and head to Greece for the October 25, 2003 Athens ITU World Cup." The star studded women's start list includes all of the current top ten ranked women with the exception of world ranked number two, Laura Reback (USA), and world ranked number nine Carol Montgomery (CAN). American Barb Lindquist has held the top position of the rankings since the beginning of 2003 but has not raced since August - Madeira will provide a good demonstration of her fitness at this point in the season. Barb's teammate, Sheila Taormina - ranked 3rd, will face tough competition for her ranking position from 4th ranked Canadian Jill Savege winner of the 2003 Corner Brook ITU World Cup and phenomenal recent success story Anja Dittmer (GER) who had three World Cup wins in a row in August and September of 2003. Kathleen Smet (BEL) - a tough competitor with success in both long distance and Olympic distance triathlon, Liz Blatchford (AUS) another rising star of the 2003 season with a World cup win under her belt and Dr. Sandra Soldan (BRA) round out the top ten women on the start list. The top man to watch in Madeira is Volodymyr Polikarpenko (UKR) - noted for his dry sense of humor as much as his powerful swim stroke. Volodymyr was the winner of the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup and is currently ranked third. Bevan Docherty (NZL) 'the quiet kiwi', currently ranked 5th is one of the strongest cyclists on the circuit should find the hills on this course to his advantage. Bevan's New Zealand teammate Craig Watson, currently ranked 7th, is also having a strong season and has finished on the podium but is still looking for a World Cup win. Current World Champion, Ivan Rana (ESP) always a performer in the big events should never be ruled out when his name appears on a start list. Also on this weekend is the Hangzhou ITU International Triathlon, China. Visit www.triathlon.org for complete event details. Live coverage from Madeira on www.triathlon.org begins 14:30 (local time); 13:30 (GMT) on Sunday, October 19. For more information contact: ITU Headquarters; Email: ituhdq@triathlon.org Phone: 1-604-926-7250 Fax: 1-604-926-7260 |